Stefan Heller

Quiet, bespectacled and studious, Stefan Heller is very tall at 1.95 metres, but he is also very deep. He is the executive chef at the Amari Orchid Resort, having taken over almost one year ago.

Stefan was born in Berne, in the German speaking section of Switzerland. When he was ten years old the family moved to Lucerne, where his mother and father took over a hotel. Even at this very tender age, Stefan showed a certain resoluteness that would become almost his ‘trademark’ later in life. Like many children, he would work in the family business after school, and his parents would pay him for his labours. “I learned and I earned money. I worked to buy my own motorbike by the time I was 14. You take care of things better when you know how hard you had to work for it.” This was said with great pride of achievement.

By the time Stefan was 16, he knew he wanted to be a chef. He also knew he needed to be able to speak more than one language if he were to make his career portable. So he went to Lausanne in the French speaking part of Switzerland.

He returned with the French language and started his apprenticeship in the Palace Hotel. “I studied there for three years and stayed six months in each kitchen. It gave me the basics in everything.” However, after three years Stefan did not consider that he now knew it all. “After apprenticeship you have to get training. After three years you are not really a chef.”

The next step for Stefan Heller was to become Private Heller for his compulsory National Service in the Swiss Army. He joined an artillery platoon, but after two weeks of spaghetti and ravioli the army looked at the CV’s of the recruits. Out of 150 privates, there was only one chef - Stefan. After 17 weeks in the kitchen, he was promoted to Corporal Chef Heller and did a second 17 week stint. “This was good experience for me. I found out how to lead people, how to motivate as opposed to the army way of commanding and ordering.”

After trading in his Swiss Army knife he went to Lugano, this time the Italian speaking side. There he learned the Italian language and the cuisine. It was also around this time that Stefan made his first acquaintance with Thailand. His mother and father had divorced amicably and dissolved their hotel partnership, and his father had moved to Thailand so Stefan came over on holidays, a destination he was to come to many times. “Thailand was like my second home.”

It was on one of those trips that he met a young girl on Koh Samui. Not a Thai girl, but a girl from Vienna. “It was a real love story,” Stefan recounted. In true love story fashion, the young chef moved to Vienna where once again he showed resolve in his character. He applied for a post as an assistant executive chef, and he was only 22 years old. He told the executive chef to give him one month’s trial. “If I am fine then let me continue - if not, then dismiss me immediately.”

The one month rolled into one year. “I learned many new things.” The hotel had a sports clinic and people like Steffi Graf would stay there to recuperate and Stefan became involved in working with doctors and nutritionists to prepare special diets for the guests.

At the end of that year, however, Stefan knew he needed to know more. “I had to make a hard decision. I needed to learn and I had to leave Austria.” This meant goodbye to his girlfriend and the end of the love story. This was hard, but the resolute Stefan packed his bags and returned to Switzerland taking a job as a sous chef in a hotel.

This was another turning point. After a very short time the hotel dispensed with the executive chef and the general manager came to see Stefan, “We will have a new executive chef tomorrow. Mr. Heller it is you!” And at that time, Stefan was still only 23 years old. He took over running a complete international team and in the year lost 15 kg, he had to work so hard.

Stefan, still hungry in the search of knowledge, then took on several posts of feeding the hungry. He was confident of his leadership abilities, “I can get a job in one week,” he said matter of factly, not bragging. Temporary one month posts became six months as the hotels saw what he was capable of. But on one holiday here, he heard of the Amari post and applied. In 40 minutes he had the job as executive chef - and he was still then only 26 years old.

His hobbies? His work! “I must like what I am doing and then my work is also my hobby. I am happy to work all hours, but I must also have my privacy, so I live outside the hotel. I like to be able to sit, contemplate and relax in private.”

Success for Stefan is to, “Stay with both feet on the earth. I am happy with what I have done and I am happy with my situation.”

In 27 years, Stefan Heller has achieved much, but has no real 5 year plan for the future. However, with his confidence and his ability, I cannot imagine him ever being unemployed for long. This young man has some very rare abilities and a determination which will always see him able to use them. A remarkable man.